You don’t need previous accountancy experience, an accounting degree or an internship to start training as a Chartered Accountant (CA). Find out what kinds of experience count, how to build experience and how to turn what you’ve done into clear evidence for an application or interview.

Do I need accountancy experience to train as a Chartered Accountant (CA)?

No. You can begin CA training straight from school or college, and graduates can enter with a degree in any subject, not only accounting. Your technical knowledge will develop through your ICAS studies and the on-the-job training, with support from your employer and ICAS tutors.

While previous accountancy experience can be useful, employers also look for potential and for evidence of how you communicate, work with others, take responsibility, solve problems and learn from experience. They’re not expecting you to arrive as the finished product.

Experience doesn’t have to be prestigious: A part-time job, group project, caring responsibility, sports/music activity or community role can provide a strong example when you explain what you did, the part you played and what you learned.

What counts as relevant experience for chartered accountancy applications?

Experience isn’t limited to formal work placements or internships. You may already have useful examples from:

  • School, college or university coursework and group projects.
  • Part-time, temporary or seasonal work.
  • Volunteering and community activities.
  • Sports, music, clubs and societies.
  • Young Enterprise, enterprise challenges or fundraising.
  • Caring and family responsibilities.
  • Organising events, trips or activities.
  • Managing your own time, money and commitments.

You don’t need experience in every area. These are examples, not requirements. One or two genuine examples that you can discuss thoughtfully are often more useful than a long list of activities.

How might my experience relate to a chartered accountancy career?

Chartered accountancy is about people, organisations and decisions, as well as numbers. CAs work with their colleagues and clients, they explain information, manage responsibilities, consider evidence and help organisations make informed decisions.

The examples below can help you recognise where you may already have begun to develop behaviours that are relevant to these areas.

Managing money and making financial decisions

You don’t need to have managed a large budget. Employers may value any example where you handled money accurately, planned spending or took responsibility for limited resources.

You might gain this experience through:

  • Handling payments, refunds, cash or stock in a part-time job.
  • Helping to organise a school, college, university or community event.
  • Fundraising for a charity, team or club.
  • Taking part in Young Enterprise or an enterprise challenge.
  • Acting as a treasurer or supporting a committee budget.
  • Managing ticket sales, sponsorship or costs for an activity.
  • Managing a personal budget or helping with household spending.

Employers may be interested in how you:

  • Tracked money, costs or resources.
  • Made choices about spending and priorities.
  • Checked details and kept accurate records.
  • Considered value for money.
  • Reacted when something didn’t balance or plans changed.

Example: “I helped organise a college charity event and took responsibility for recording donations and costs. I checked the figures against receipts and kept the team updated on how much we had available to spend. This taught me to be accurate, accountable and realistic when making decisions about money.”

Working with people

Chartered Accountants build relationships and work with many different people. Relevant experience can come from any situation where you listened, explained, supported someone or handled a difficult interaction.

You might gain this experience through:

  • Retail, hospitality, leisure or other customer-facing work.
  • Volunteering or helping at community events.
  • Coaching, mentoring, tutoring or supporting younger students.
  • Student ambassador or representative roles.
  • Clubs, societies, sports teams and music groups.
  • Caring or family responsibilities.

Employers may be interested in how you:

  • Adapted your approach to different people.
  • Handled questions, concerns or challenging situations.
  • Listened and responded to what someone needed.
  • Remained calm and professional under pressure.
  • Built trust and worked collaboratively.

Example: “During busy café shifts, I took orders, answered questions and dealt with complaints. I learned to listen carefully, explain things clearly and stay calm when customers or colleagues were under pressure.”

Communicating ideas and explaining information

Communication is not only about formal presentations or public speaking. It is also about helping other people understand information and adapting your message to the audience.

You might gain this experience through:

  • Presentations or assessed work at school, college or university.
  • Explaining part of a group project.
  • Training a new colleague or helping another student.
  • Fundraising, volunteering or representing a group.
  • Speaking with customers, teammates or members of the public.
  • Creating written, digital or social media content for an activity.

Employers may be interested in how you:

  • Made information clear and relevant.
  • Adapted your language or approach for a particular audience.
  • Answered questions or checked understanding.
  • Prepared and organised your message.
  • Learned about communicating with confidence.

Example: “For a group project, I presented our findings to the class. I organised the key points, used simple examples to explain the detail and responded to questions. The experience helped me understand that good communication is about what the audience needs to know, not simply repeating everything we had researched.”

Teamwork, responsibility and initiative

Teamwork is not simply being part of a group. Employers will be interested in the contribution you made, how you supported others and whether you took responsibility when something needed to be done.

You might gain this experience through:

  • Group projects and practical coursework.
  • Part-time work or volunteering.
  • Sports teams, music groups, clubs or societies.
  • Organising an event, trip or fundraiser.
  • Caring or family responsibilities.
  • Supporting a new colleague, student or teammate.

Employers may be interested in how you:

  • Contributed to a shared goal.
  • Informed or supported others.
  • Dealt with competing priorities or disagreement.
  • Took ownership or showed initiative.
  • Learned about relying on others and being reliable yourself.

Example: “I was responsible for collecting and preparing our football team’s kit each week. It was not a formal leadership role, but the team depended on me to be organised and reliable. I created a routine, checked what was needed before each match and raised problems early.”

Leadership is not only a title: You can demonstrate leadership by taking initiative, guiding others, organising part of an activity, improving how something is done or accepting responsibility for an outcome, even if you weren’t a captain, president or manager.

Analysing information and solving problems

Chartered Accountants use information to understand problems and support decisions. You may already have done this in your studies, work, activities or everyday responsibilities.

You might gain this experience through:

  • Coursework, research projects or a dissertation.
  • Young Enterprise or a business challenge.
  • Planning an event, journey, activity or fundraiser.
  • Resolving a problem in a part-time job or volunteering role.
  • Reviewing feedback and changing an approach.
  • Comparing options before making a purchase or recommendation.

Employers may be interested in how you:

  • Identified the real problem.
  • Gathered information and judged its reliability.
  • Compared options, risks or priorities.
  • Decided upon a particular approach.
  • Understood what happened and what you would do differently next time.

Example: “When attendance at our society events began to fall, I reviewed feedback, compared attendance across different times and spoke to members about what was stopping them coming. We changed the timing and format of the next event, which helped me see the value of using evidence rather than assumptions.”

Building commercial and business awareness

Commercial awareness is not about already knowing everything about business. It begins with curiosity about how organisations work, the people they serve and the decisions they face.

You might gain this experience through:

  • Following business, economic or sector news and thinking about its impact.
  • Researching an employer before applying.
  • Noticing how a part-time employer attracts customers, manages costs or responds to change.
  • Taking part in Young Enterprise, a case competition or an enterprise project.
  • Attending careers events, employer talks, insight days or work experience.
  • Asking people about their roles and sectors.

Employers may be interested in how you:

  • Learned, rather than simply what you read or attended.
  • Understood how an external issue might affect an organisation, its customers or employees.
  • Grasped how organisations balance cost, quality, risk and service.
  • Were interested in the employer or profession.
  • Used your research to influence a question, decision or application.

Example: “Before applying, I researched the organisation’s clients and recent work. I then linked this to what I had learned in my retail job about customer expectations and changing costs. This helped me explain why the role interested me and ask more specific questions at interview.”

How do I turn my experience into evidence?

Don’t just name the activity or claim a skill. Give enough detail to show the employer what you actually did. A simple structure can help:

  1. Set the context. Briefly explain the situation or responsibility.
  2. Describe your contribution. Be clear about the part you personally played.
  3. Explain your approach. What decisions did you make? How did you deal with the challenge?
  4. Share the outcome. What changed, improved or was completed?
  5. Reflect on the learning. What did you learn, and how could it help you in a CA role?

Be specific and honest: You don’t need to exaggerate your role or make an everyday experience sound grand. A modest example explained clearly and thoughtfully can be more convincing than an impressive title with little detail behind it.

Before and after: From assertion to evidence

Instead of: “I have strong teamwork and leadership skills from playing sport.”

Try: “When two new players joined our team, I helped them understand our routines and made sure they were included in training. I was not the captain, but I recognised that they needed support and took responsibility for helping them settle in. It showed me that leadership can be about noticing what is needed and helping others succeed.”

How can I build relevant experience?

If you feel you don’t yet have an example in an area you want to develop, start small. You could:

  • Volunteer to organise one part of an event or project.
  • Take responsibility for a budget, rota, stock check or record.
  • Offer to explain a topic, welcome new members or support a teammate.
  • Ask for feedback after a presentation, shift or group task.
  • Take part in an enterprise challenge, insight day or volunteering activity.
  • Look for a problem in your school, college, university, workplace or community and suggest a practical improvement.

An internship can provide useful insight and experience, but it is only one option. What matters is engaging with the opportunities available to you and reflecting on what they teach you.

In summary

You don’t need previous accountancy experience or a perfect CV to begin your route to the CA qualification. Employers want to understand your potential through real examples of how you have worked with people, taken responsibility, approached problems and learned from experience.

The experience itself is only the starting point. What makes it valuable is being able to explain what you did, how you contributed, what you learned and why that matters for the role you are applying for.